The reason i bring this up ( sorry should have stated) is that at a party a few months ago (pre-bogleheads) the topics of chat were vacations, kids and food. But there was one guy who discussed finance in an informative way and i noted that when he spoke that not only did all conversation stop but so did all eating and drinking. As so many folks here are quite knowledgeable i was wondering the reactions they noted if the subject came up?

reggiesimpson wrote:sscritic.........your right. I was at a party populated by accountants many years ago..............boring as hell. I should have spiked their drinks!

You know the old joke: how can you tell if an accountant has personality? He stares at YOUR shoes when he is talking.

OP, I love to discuss finance anywhere, although I've learned to bite my tongue on the general superiority of passive investing. Too many geniuses out there with supposed inside info or stock-picking methods.

What is their to discuss? Hmmm.... I invest only in low cost Vanguard stock & bond mutual funds / ETFs. The End.
And others have the luxury to talk about strikes, options, hedges, etc. Sometimes I envy them

I have been to get-togethers where the financial news is discussed, but no one ever ever ever talks about their personal investments in public at a party.
Do people really talk about their investments in a serious way at a get-together?

hsv_climber wrote:What is their to discuss? Hmmm.... I invest only in low cost Vanguard stock & bond mutual funds / ETFs. The End.

No Fama-French, no small value, no dice and slice, no efficient frontier, no discussion of how Warren Buffet doesn't have a clue, no backdoor Roth, no DRCs (oh, that's right, you had better use the words Delayed Retirement Credits)? Before your next party, just review the last 25 threads on bogleheads.org; that will give you plenty to talk about.

In my age group everyone wants to talk about Social Security and Medicare and claiming strategies. It can go on for hours. And don't tell me that talking about Social Security is boring.

I presume we are all here because we like this stuff. I can't imagine not being able to talk about your hobby if you are truly enthusiastic about it.

My dream: party with livesoft and have him talk about all his tricks of the trade.

hsv_climber wrote:What is their to discuss? Hmmm.... I invest only in low cost Vanguard stock & bond mutual funds / ETFs. The End.

No Fama-French, no small value, no dice and slice, no efficient frontier, no discussion of how Warren Buffet doesn't have a clue, no backdoor Roth, no DRCs (oh, that's right, you had better use the words Delayed Retirement Credits)? Before your next party, just review the last 25 threads on bogleheads.org; that will give you plenty to talk about.
In my age group everyone wants to talk about Social Security and Medicare and claiming strategies. It can go on for hours. And don't tell me that talking about Social Security is boring.
I presume we are all here because we like this stuff. I can't imagine not being able to talk about your hobby if you are truly enthusiastic about it.
My dream: party with livesoft and have him talk about all his tricks of the trade.

Honestly, I've never met Boglehead-types in the real life (I've never been to Boglehead reunions).

From my experience, people are split into 2 categories:
1. those who actively trade stocks.
2. those who know nothing, don't want to learn anything and randomly pick options on their 401K plan. They keep their money @ Edward Jones, brother's broker, sometimes Vanguard/Fidelity Target (or Total market) funds, etc.

So, I've never had a luck to enjoy a good conversation about investments at the parties that I've been to.

sscritic wrote:My dream: party with livesoft and have him talk about all his tricks of the trade.

Here is how you can do - start a thread with a message: "Hypothetically, if you are livesoft and you want to share the tricks of the trade with the rest of us. How would you do that?".

reggiesimpson wrote:Interesting..........yes their seems to be a general reticence when it comes to discussing ones personal finance but if they can pick up clues from the knowledgeable then folks are in rapt attention.

Bogleheads are not considered "knowledgeable". "Knowledgeable" are considered the people who have happened to buy APPL, GOOGLE, whatever and make millions (or whatever they claim) on it.

You must attend an American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) meeting! Warning! You might get screamed at upon hearing that you have a diversified low cost portfolio with comments such as "I won't make any money in a diversified portfolio!"
I don't talk about it at parties unless somebody else has an interest.

Public School K-12 Educators: "Ask NOT what your annuity sales person can do for you, ask what you can do to be a Do-It-Yourselfer (DIY)."

reggiesimpson wrote:Interesting..........yes their seems to be a general reticence when it comes to discussing ones personal finance but if they can pick up clues from the knowledgeable then folks are in rapt attention.

Bogleheads are not considered "knowledgeable". "Knowledgeable" are considered the people who have happened to buy APPL, GOOGLE, whatever and make millions (or whatever they claim) on it.

So true. I am so fortunate to be unknowledgeable even though one or two posters think thats "anti intellectual."

Public School K-12 Educators: "Ask NOT what your annuity sales person can do for you, ask what you can do to be a Do-It-Yourselfer (DIY)."

During dot-com bubble, I constantly heard people bragging about their gains (in 6 figures) in stocks like JDS Uniphase, Sun, Qualcom etc. After the bubble burst, no one talked about how much money they lost. These days I only hear that "market conditions are bad and this year is written off". I just listen and chuckle!

Once, at the first meeting of my soon to be wife's friends, someone asked what my occupation was. I explained it in laymans terms when someone chimed in that their husband was "big" in the market. I asked about their strategy which led to a 10 minute diatribe on watching Cramer and those 4 or 5 that sit around a table and talk about their "hot trading techniques" (the name escapes me). After that, they asked what my strategy was and I simply replied "mutual funds".
After that time, I try not to talk about it, unless I know the person "well".

DIscussing finance at parties can be akin to talking politics. It can get heated at times and uncomfortable. Talking business or an overall discussion on the markets can be ok but once you delve into personal opinions, stock picks, etc., it can become a sticky situation fast.

Whiggish Boffin wrote:When you own index funds, someone brags about his stock picks, and you nod and say "Yeah, I've got some of that..."

...and if you own Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund exclusively for your US equity exposure, you can truthfully say :
"AAPL is my second largest US stock holding".
Not bad for being "unknowledgeable" !

Interestingly i just had dinner with my neighbor. A guy that discusses his personal finances very easily (at parties and elsewhere). I told him about this great site (Bogleheads) and that my focus is shifting to index investing rather than the insane day trading we used to do together on occasion. He said he just handed his entire portfolio to his cousin at Morgan Stanley who guarantees him profits at very low costs. I suspect our dinners together are on the wane.

I'll listen for a minute or two to judge if the guy knows what he's talking about. If he does I'll keep my mouth shut and listen some more. Possibly I might learn something. If it seems he's just blowing his own horn I'll look for the first excuse to move on to someone else.

GRT2BOUTDOORS wrote:Once, at the first meeting of my soon to be wife's friends, someone asked what my occupation was. I explained it in laymans terms when someone chimed in that their husband was "big" in the market. I asked about their strategy which led to a 10 minute diatribe on watching Cramer and those 4 or 5 that sit around a table and talk about their "hot trading techniques" (the name escapes me). After that, they asked what my strategy was and I simply replied "mutual funds".
After that time, I try not to talk about it, unless I know the person "well".

I am sorry, but did you mean to say 'monologue' when you wrote 'diatribe?' I ask because diatribe - to me at least - carries a negative connotation, and the context you gave appears to indicate that the person was praising Cramer to high heaven. Or did I misunderstand your entire post?

It is funny, but I had dinner with friends several times this past week and American politics was discussed at every single dinner in depth, so I do not think politics is akin to discussing our personal methods of investing. Politics seems to only be taboo on the forum and not elsewhere.

There are several different types of "finance discussions" at parties, among them:

- Someone pontificates on a rigid, incorrect, and vacuous financial viewpoint, such as a diatribe on why "buy and hold" is dead. Response is to politely smile, and move on to a more interesting conversation partner at first opportunity.

- Someone pontificates on a rigid, incorrect, and vacuous political viewpoint, such as a diatribe against the federal reserve. Response is to politely smile, and move on to a more interesting conversation partner at first opportunity.

- Someone without expertise, but with honest introspection and candor wonders aloud about a financial concept. Similar people, with and without expertise, respond patiently imparting any knowledge they have and eagerly awaiting any new knowledge or insight they can gain through the conversation (either about the concept or the behavior surrounding the concept).

- Someone with expertise brings up a topic with honest introspection and candor, and patiently listens to the reactions of other members of the conversation, politely adding points as needed.

- A topic is broached to which one or more members of the group respond solely from the framework of their political leanings. Response is to exit immediately -- they probably won't even notice.

- A topic that people are accustomed to viewing through a political prism is viewed on its own merits by a thoughtful group speaking and responding without a political framework. Might be the most fascinating part of the evening.

There are many possibilities. Probably depends as much on you and the people you choose to spend time with as anything else.

I plead guilty. A year and a half ago, someone pointed me towards William Bernstein's books on asset allocation, which led me on first to Jack Bogle and then the Boglehead books and forum. I feel an obligation to return the favor. Since I have many friends approaching retirement, this type of topic does come up in conversation and I see no reason not to mention the books that have helped me.

reggiesimpson wrote:Do you openly discuss Finance at parties? If so what is your feedback?

Honestly I don't recall personal finance ever being discussed at parties. Personal finance seems to be even more taboo than the dreaded politics. The usual suspects are: the weather (old faithful), movies, kids/school, sports, jobs, and politics (well tolerated usually provided everyone belongs to the same party).